January 2019 Immigration Health Surcharge Increase

The government has announced that the Immigation Health Surcharge paid by temporary migrants to the UK will increase from 8 January 2019 from £200 to £400 per person year. The discounted rate for students and those on the Youth Mobility Scheme will increase from £150 to £300 per person per year.

The Immigration Health Surcharge was introduced in 2015 to fund the NHS. More than £600 million has been raised since its introduction, which the Department of Health and Social Care and the health ministries in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have invested back into their health budgets. The NHS could receive an estimated £220 million in extra funding from this new increase to the Immigration Health Surcharge.

All non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals and their dependants, seeking to reside in the UK to work, study, or join family members for more than six months will be required to pay this surcharge together with the visa application fee.

It will also affect family applications for UK Nationals and those who are settled in the UK, who wish to bring their family members to the UK, or who wish to extend their family members’ leave to remain in the UK.